H. M. S. Pinafore (The Lass that… | Details | AllMusic google+ Description by John Palmer In April 1878, Gilbert and Sullivan toured the deck of H.M.S. Victory, taking copious notes and making drawings of everything from the riggings to the sailors' uniforms. The librettist and composer wanted the visual aspect of their new operetta, H.M.S. Pinafore, to be as accurate as possible. Gilbert even ordered the costumes from a naval supplier. Such attention to detail, and the procedures Gilbert used to create the scenery and rehearse the actors, would become typical of the team's working method from H.M.S. Pinafore on. It was H.M.S. Pinafore, or The Lass that Loved a Sailor that established Gilbert and Sullivan as a creative force to be reckoned with in British comic theater. The operetta opened at the Opéra Comique Theatre in London on May 25, 1878. The first performance in the United States took place at the Boston Museum on November 25, 1878. This was pirated and modified from the British production. The vogue for H.M.S.

Pinafore in the U.S. was unprecedented, and by March 1879, eight different theaters were running the operetta, while in Philadelphia another six houses staged the piece simultaneously; one of these was the first version translated into German. Producer Richard D'Oyly Carte brought the original, British version of H.M.S. Pinafore to New York in the summer of 1879. He felt the great success of pirated versions in the U.S. would prompt audiences there to attend the original production; plus, he was annoyed that he and the authors received no royalties for the American performances. Gilbert, too, was unhappy with the situation: "I will not have another libretto of mine produced if the Americans are going to steal it. It's not that I need the money so much, but it upsets my digestion." On December 1, 1879, the D'Oyly Carte production of H.M.S. Pinafore opened in New York to great acclaim. Gilbert's libretto has everything necessary to create a comedy.

The captain's daughter, Josephine, is being courted by two men, one a sailor (Ralph Rackstraw) and the other the Admiral of the British Navy (Sir Joseph Porter). To make things more complicated, a former nurse, Little Buttercup, exchanged two babies many years earlier. Sullivan's music, however, was responsible for the long-term success of H.M.S. Pinafore. After a great first night, attendance dwindled drastically. In August, Sullivan assembled a few numbers from the show into a medley for a concert at Covent Garden that rekindled interest in the stage work. Eventually, H.M.S. Pinafore would run nearly 700 performances. Sullivan's melodies are what make the show memorable. From the opening sailors' chorus to Little Buttercup's simple aria, H.M.S. Pinafore abounds with unforgettable tunes. Sir Joseph's "When I Was Lad" is a patented Sullivan patter song that looks ahead to the Major-General's song in The Pirates of Penzance.

In the stirring chorus, "A British Tar Is a Soaring Soul," we hear Handel ian ornamental passages, and Sullivan parodies contemporary patriotic songs in "He is an Englishman." The most popular number from the show is the second-act Trio, "Never Mind the Why and Wherefore." Gilbert's leading comic figure in H.M.S. Pinafore, Sir Joseph Porter, is based on Gilbert's contemporary, W.H. Smith, whom Disreali appointed First Lord of the Admiralty although Smith had never been on a ship. As Gilbert explained in 1908: "You would naturally think that the person who commanded the entire Navy would be the most accomplished sailor...but that is not the way in which such things are managed in England." Parts/Movements No. 2, We sail the ocean blue No. 3a, Hail, men-o'-war's men No. 3b, I'm called little Buttercup No. 4a, But, tell me No. 4b, The Nightingale No. 4c, A maiden fair to see No. 5a, My gallant crew No. 5b, I am the Captain of the Pinafore No.

6a, Sir you are sad No. 6b, Sorry her lot who loves too well No. 7, Over the bright blue sea No. 8a, Sir Joseph's barge is seen No. 8b, Gaily tripping, lightly skipping No. 9, I am the monarch of the sea No. 10, When I was a lad I served a term No. 11, A British tar is a soaring soul' No. 12, Refrain, audacious tar No. 13a, Can I survive this overbearing No. 13b, Oh joy, oh rapture unforseen No. 13c, Let's give three cheers for a sailor's bride No. 14a, Entr'acte HMS Pinafore Home Page You are here: Archive Home > HMS Pinafore The fourth collaboration between Gilbert & Sullivan was their first major success: H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor. It opened on May 25, 1878 at the Opera Comique where it ran for 571 performances.

Touring companies spread its popularity throughout Britain and in America numerous companies "pirated" the work by staging productions without the consent of the authors and without paying them any royalties. Gilbert, Sullivan and Carte tried to beat the pirates by mounting their own production in New York. Today, Pinafore remains one of the most popular Gilbert and Sullivan operas. Drawing on several of his earlier "Bab Ballads", Gilbert imbued H.M.S. Pinafore with mirth and silliness to spare. He pokes fun at the notion that the First Lord of the Admiralty should be a purely political appointment whose holder need never have been to sea. Sir Joseph Porter has arisen from humble beginnings to that high office by political acumen and not only insists that all orders should be qualified by the phrase "If you please" but writes songs to promote "independence of thought and action in the lower branches of the service". We meet the snobbish Captain, who never swears a "big, big D" (Well, hardly ever!) and who is horrified to find his daughter is in love with a "common" sailor on board his own ship whilst himself nurturing a fondness for a poor bumboat woman.

How will it be possible for his daughter to be united with the man she loves without marrying beneath her station? Fear not: it all works out in the end. Hip, hip, hoorah! VLO H.M.S. Pinafore 2013 The Lass That Loved A Sailor at the For Valley Light Opera's 39th annual fall production, we are presenting Gilbert and Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore, or The Lass That Loved A Sailor. This show was a smash hit from its first production in 1878, and it remains one of the most popular musical theatre offerings in the world. Josephine, the daughter of Captain Corcoran, is in love with Ralph Rackstraw, an Able Seaman, but she is to be betrothed to Sir Joseph Porter, K.C.B., First Lord of the Admiralty. Their dilemma is resolved by the revelation of an astonishing (and comic) secret. In our new production, the action takes place in the wake of the naval victory at Trafalgar in 1805, the world of Jane Austen and "Master and Commander." Join us for an evening of family-friendly song, dance, and laughter.

Dramatis Personæ H.M.S. Pinafore - The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company - The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company - Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A. The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company “A British tar is a soaring soul, As free as a mountain bird, His energetic fist should be ready to resist A dictatorial word” The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company's Production of H.M.S. Pinafore or The Lass That Loved a Sailor March 16 to April 8 Our Production of H.M.S. Pinafore H.M.S. Pinafore opened in London in 1878, and became the first great success by Gilbert and Sullivan. We chose to set our production one hundred years later, in 1978, on a British cruise liner bound for the imaginary tropical island of Barataria. Two excellent internet resources for information about H.M.S. Pinafore: Ages Ago - "Times" Review 1881 Thespis; or, The Gods Grown Old: Gaiety Theatre, 26 December 1871, 63 performances.

Trial By Jury: Royalty Theatre, 25 March 1875, 131 performances. The Sorcerer: Opera Comique, 17 November 1877, 175 performances. H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass that Loved a Sailor: Opera Comique, 25 May 1878, 571 performances. The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty: Royal Bijou Theatre, Paignton, 31 December 1879; Fifth Avenue Theatre, New York, 31 December 1879; Opera Comique, 3 April 1880, 363 performances. Patience; or Bunthorne's Bride: Opera Comique, 23 April 1881, Transferred to Savoy Theatre 10 October 1881, 578 performances. Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri: Savoy Theatre, 25 November 1882, 398 performances.

Princess Ida; or, Castle Adamant: Savoy Theatre, 5 January 1884, 246 performances. The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu: Savoy Theatre, 14 March 1885, 672 performances. Ruddigore; or, The Witch's Curse: Savoy Theatre, 22 January 1887, 288 performances. The Yeomen of the Guard; or, The Merryman and His Maid: Savoy Theatre, 3 October 1888, 423 performances. The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria: Savoy Theatre, 7 December 1889, 554 performances. Utopia, Limited; or, The Flowers of Progress: Savoy Theatre, 7 October 1893, 245 performances. The Grand Duke; or, The Statutory Duel: SavoyTheatre, 7 March 1896, 123 performances. Project MUSE - H.M.S. Pinafore, or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor, and: H.M.S.

Pinafore in Full Score, and: H.M.S. Pinafore. Vocal Score, and: The Mikado in Full Score, and: The Mikado. Vocal Score, and: The Pirates of Penzance in Full Score, and: The Pirates of Penzance. Vocal Score, and: The Chieftan: A Comic Opera in Two Acts (review) Download PDF Andrew Lamb - H.M.S. Pinafore, or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor, and: H.M.S. Pinafore in Full Score, and: H.M.S. Pinafore. Vocal Score, and: The Mikado in Full Score, and: The Mikado. Vocal Score, and: The Pirates of Penzance in Full Score, and: The Pirates of Penzance. Vocal Score, and: The Chieftan: A Comic Opera in Two Acts (review) - Notes 61:2 Notes 61.2 (2004) 532-536 W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. H.M.S. Pinafore, or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor. Edited by Percy M. Young.

(The Operas, 3.) New York: Broude Brothers Limited, 2003. [Part A: Music. Frontispiece (facsim. reprod. of stage set); publisher's pref., p. vii; acknowledgments, p. ix-x; contents, p. xi-xii; editorial policies, p. xv-xviii; dramatis personae, instrumentation, 1 p.; score, 310 p.; musical appendices, p. 311-21. Part B: Commentary. Frontispiece (facsim. reprod. of letter from Gilbert to Sullivan); contents, p. vii-viii; introd., p. 1-30; libretto, p. 31-64; crit. apparatus, p. 65-160; appendices (Bab ballads, suppressed passages for Cousin Hebe, early recordings, the Royal Navy in H.M.S. Pinafore), p. 161-94; bibliography, p. 195-201; 8 illustrations throughout. Cloth. ISBN 0-8450-3003-5 (set).

$300.] W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. H.M.S. Pinafore in Full Score. New edition by Carl Simpson and Ephraim Hammett Jones. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, c2002. [Dramatis personae, contents, 2 p.; pref., p. v-vi; synopsis, p. vii; instrumentation, p. viii; score, 247 p. ISBN 0-486-42201-1. $19.95.] W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. H.M.S. Pinafore. Vocal score. New edition by Carl Simpson and Ephraim Hammett Jones; with a new piano reduction by Ephraim Hammett Jones. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, c2002. [Dramatis personae, original cast, 1 p.; contents, p. iv-v; pref., p. vi-viii; synopsis, p. ix-x; instrumentation, p. xii; vocal score, 212 p. ISBN 0-486-42202-X.

$12.95.] W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. The Mikado in Full Score. New edition by Carl Simpson and Ephraim Hammett Jones. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, c1999. [Pref., p. v-vii; dramatis personae, original cast, p. ix; synopsis, p. xi-xiii; instrumentation, p. xiv; score, 350 p. ISBN 0-486-40626-1. $19.95.] W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. The Mikado. Vocal score. New edition by Carl Simpson and Ephraim Hammett Jones; with a new piano reduction by Ephraim Hammett Jones. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, c2000. [Pref., p. v-viii; dramatis personae, original cast, p. vii; synopsis, p. viii-ix; instrumentation, p. x; vocal score, 245 p. ISBN 0-486-41163-X. $14.95.] [End Page 532] W.

S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. The Pirates of Penzance in Full Score. New edition by Carl Simpson and Ephraim Hammett Jones. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, c2001. [Pref., p. v-vii; dramatis personae, original cast, p. viii; synopsis, p. ix-x; instrumentation, p. xii; score, 272 p. ISBN 0-486-41891-X. $19.95.] W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. The Pirates of Penzance. Vocal score. New edition by Carl Simpson and Ephraim Hammett Jones; with a new piano reduction by Ephraim Hammett Jones. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, c2001. [Pref., p. v-vii; dramatis personae, original cast, p. viii; synopsis, p. ix-x; vocal score, 245 p. ISBN 0-486-41893-6. $17.95.] Arthur Sullivan. The Chieftain: A Comic Opera in Two Acts.

Composed by Sir Arthur Sullivan; written by F. C. Burnand. New performing edition prepared by David Eden and Martin Yates, complete with a new overture composed by Julian Savory; edited by David Ashbridge and Mark Bones. Vocal score. Hull, East Yorks., Eng.: Seresta Music, c1996. [Introd. (Irene Papadimitriou, c1997), p. 4; historical background (Mark Bones), p. 5; cast list, settings, p. 6; synopsis, p. 7; vocal score, p. 8-245; editorial and performing notes, p. 246-49. SER-96011. £24.95.] It used to be part of the Gilbert and Sullivan tradition that musical directors were forced to conduct from annotated piano-vocal scores, since only German full scores of H.M.S. Pinafore, as Amor an Bord (Brunswick: Henry Litolff's Verlag, [1883]), and The Mikado (Leipzig: Bosworth & Co., [ca. 1893]) were ever published.

As with so much other Gilbert and Sullivan tradition, things have changed. During the 1970s and 1980s, Kalmus issued orchestral scores of the operas compiled from printed parts that were so error prone that they inspired William V. Dorwart to publish through his WVD Press (in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania) corrected conducting scores and orchestral parts (rental only) for almost all the Gilbert and Sullivan series. Elsewhere, critical editions have also been emerging. In 1984, Ernst Eulenburg (London) published a miniature full score of The Gondoliers edited by David Lloyd-Jones, and in 2000, the Oxford University Press issued a critical edition of Ruddigore edited by David Russell Hulme. This current batch of material here under review exemplifies two further efforts to meet the demand for authentic material. Pride of place must go to the Broude Brothers full score of H.M.S.

Pinafore (1878), which represents the first full-length work in a projected complete edition of the thirteen extant Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas whose reluctance to appear in print has exceeded even the reluctance of the policemen of ThePirates of Penzance to leave the stage. This edition was begun as long ago as 1971; but rethinking of the editorial method, together with other commitments of the editors, delayed the appearance of the first volume until 1994. That was a full score of the one-act Trial by Jury (edited by Steven Ledbetter; reviewed by Victor Fell Yellin in Notes 55, no. 3 [March 1999]: 734-35), followed by a vocal score in 1999 (which includes errata for the full score), and then instrumental parts. Now H.M.S. Pinafore sails into view. As befits both project and price, it is a truly sumptuous edition, printed on acid-free cream paper, and sturdily and handsomely bound in dark blue cloth.

It comes in two volumes—part A, devoted to the full score with interlinking dialogue and variant musical passages, and part B, presenting detailed editorial commentary and other material, including an extensively annotated libretto. Such an edition is, of course, more likely to be preserved on library shelves as a reference work than be used in actual performance, which is all the more reason to welcome also the economy Dover [End Page 533] edition of H.M.S. Pinafore and two other comic operas, The Pirates of Penzance (1879) and The Mikado (1885)—all three in both full and vocal score. These are necessarily less sumptuously produced—paperbound with pictorial front covers, smaller pages and type, and more often two (or occasionally three) systems to a page as compared to Broude's more expansive layout of one per page. The Dover publications are presented as practical performing editions rather than scholarly editions, but nonetheless they offer instructive comparisons with the Broude volumes. For Broude, the late Percy M. Young "has elected to present a text reflecting a state of H.M.S.

Pinafore during the 1887-88 revival" (pt. A, p. xv)—an eminently sensible decision that permits the inclusion of modifications by both composer and librettist in the light of performing experience. For the Dover edition of the same opera, Carl Simpson and Ephraim Hammett Jones claim to have "wherever possible . . . followed the the reading found in the composer's autograph" (p. vi). That begs the question, though, since Sullivan's comic opera autograph scores were often sketchily worked out, leaving the detail to be finalized in the orchestral parts and in the light of practical experience in the theater. Such improvements might, or might not, be incorporated into the autograph score. Fortunately this is not a major issue for H.M.S. Pinafore, and the primary differences between these two scores are matters of presentation as much as interpretation. Both editions use primarily B clarinets, switching to A clarinets where the range lies too low or where the fingering of B clarinets would be cumbersome. Broude, though, prints the flute part above the piccolo line as in the original score, whereas Dover puts the flute below.

Broude gives 1883 for the publication date of the German full score, Dover has 1882. Dover includes in the main text (pp. 232-33) the substandard recitative "Here, Take Her, Sir" (no. 20a), "abondoned [sic] for the 1887 revival, if not earlier," as the footnote has it (p. 233), whereas Broude offers it as one of two appendices in part A. The other appendix to this Broude volume features the duet for the Captain and Josephine, "Reflect My Child," for which instrumental parts but no vocal lines survive. Broude also necessarily includes a revised finale incorporating "Rule Britannia!," contrived for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee year in 1887 and sensibly ignored by Dover. Some of the differences between the two editions seem surprising even if justified, as with the different lyrics for the reprise "Chorus of Sailors" (no. 7) of the score. Broude (part A, p.

77) favors a reprise of the lines beginning "We sail the ocean blue," whereas Dover presents without comment (p.

58) those beginning "Sir Joseph's barge is seen." The former lines were indeed substituted in published librettos and vocal scores at an early stage, and yet there is a wealth of documentary evidence and performing practice to support Dover's more imaginative "Sir Joseph's barge is seen." Not only is it to be found in Sullivan's autograph and the very earliest vocal scores, but it was standard in theatrical performance and on recordings during the twentieth century, including the first commercial recording made in 1930 with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company under the direction of Rupert D'Oyly Carte and conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent (Gramophone Company—His Master's Voice D 1844-52 [1930]; Victrola 9937-45 [1931], 78 rpm, 9 discs; various reissues, including Arabesque Recordings Z8052-2 [1986], 2 CDs [with Trial by Jury]), cited as a source in the Broude edition, and the 1987 New Sadler's Wells Opera version conducted by Simon Phipps (MCA Classics MCAD2-1

1012 [1988], 2 CDs; reissues, Musical Heritage Society MHS 522328X [1989], 2 CDs; Jay Productions CDJAY2 1324 [1999], 2 CDs), based on a performing edition prepared from the autograph by David Russell Hulme and described as the "world premiere recording of the complete, authentic score." Perhaps the two editions diverge most obviously (if unimportantly) with the minor characters Bill Bobstay and Bob Becket.

They are identified in the dramatis personae of vocal scores and librettos as "Boatswain's Mate" and "Carpenter's Mate" respectively, whereas the actual text of those very same vocal scores and librettos, as well as Sullivan's autograph, has them as "Boatswain" and "Boatswain's Mate." Broude opts for the potentially more confusing second choice, Dover the clearer first. Dover is surely incorrect, though, in [End Page 534] identifying both Bobstay and Becket as basses (p. iii), rather than the baritone and bass (Broude, pt. A, p. xx) that would be expected for the first act glee "A British Tar Is a Soaring Soul" that is the two characters' prime raison d'être. Dover also has an incorrect note in the clarinet II part (written B should read G) in m. 60 of this number, immediately preceding the start of a passage (pp. 94-95) where there is uncertainty about the instrumentation.

Here Dover's printing of wind parts in small notes in the main score is surely more useful than Broude's confining them to the editorial commentary (pt. B, pp. 116-17). The two scores also differ as to whether it is Dick Deadeye (Broude, pt. A, p. 170) who joins in the act 1 finale at "His nose should pant and his lip should curl," as in almost all nineteenth-century scores and librettos, or the Carpenter's Mate (Dover, p. 139)—arguably more logical dramatically but apparently found only in twentieth-century vocal scores. Editorial decisions do not always seem to follow the respective editors' preference for the autograph or the 1887 version, though. Both editions, for instance, include in the main text an alternative ending to act 2, even though it is apparently of twentieth-century origin. Broude, too, prints Captain Corcoran's "Fair Moon, to Thee I Sing" in D as in the autograph, whereas Dover gives it in C, a downward transposition indicated in all band parts from the very earliest.

And, for all that the Dover supposedly follows Sullivan's autograph score, it includes dialogue dating from as late as 1914 (p. 233)! In the commentary volume (part B) of the Broude edition, Young's introductory essay on the background to H.M.S. Pinafore is masterly, citing musical precedents going back through Henry Purcell, Thomas Arne, and William Shield as far as Thomas Campion. Among much else, his description of the original concept of Joseph Porter's Cousin Hebe (p. 11) makes a case for restoring her dialogue (included here as additional material, pp. 175-77), dropped at the last minute when the authors replaced the ailing Mrs. Howard Paul in the cast with the young Jessie Bond, who insisted on having no spoken contribution. Young is less secure, though, on the popular musical scene of the 1870s. The 1872 Covent Garden spectacular, Babil and Bijou, for instance, becomes Babil and Dijon (p.

14), while the French dance music composer and conductor Olivier Métra, prevented by illness from being Sullivan's assistant conductor at the Covent Garden Promenade Concerts in 1878, appears as "Oliver Mitra" (p. 18). Admirable though the Broude volume's thoroughness is, some of the corroborative detail does seem peripheral to an authentic edition, as well as repetitive. Early recordings of H.M.S. Pinafore, all made after the death of the composer, are detailed not once but twice—as sources for the edition, and in a discography by the late Bruce I. Miller of recordings up to 1930, the last that featured any singer (in this case Henry Lytton) who had worked for Gilbert and Sullivan. Each time, moreover, they come with footnotes acknowledging individual helpers who have often already been acknowledged in a preface to part A. For its part, the Dover edition portrays an air of uncertainty even on the title page in attributing this work (as with all the others in the series) to "W. S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan." Neither was knighted at the time of H.M.S.

Pinafore and The Pirates of Penzance, and both subsequently were. So why give the knighthood to the composer but not the librettist? The relative superficiality of the Dover research is also betrayed by a reference to H.M.S. Pinafore enjoying an initial run of 700 performances, a figure long since discredited (Young gives 571 in the Broude edition [pt. B, p. 23]). In both the Broude and Dover editions there seems at times an uneasy balance between British and American English. Where Dover "will hear of no defense" (p. 212), Broude "will hear of no defence" (pt. A, p. 266). Even though neither edition can claim absolute perfection, these quibbles must not detract from the very real value of both. If it is difficult to avoid a suspicion of spurious scholarship at times with Broude, the copious and fascinating material will enable anyone to reach personal conclusions on disputed points. As for the Dover edition, it represents the most accessible version of the full score for both performer and armchair enthusiast at an astonishingly low price. That Dover's H.M.S.

Pinafore—as indeed its 2001 The Pirates of Penzance—holds up as [End Page 535] well as it does against the Broude also indicates major progress since the 1999 edition of The Mikado, where editorial shortcomings are readily apparent. Though Simpson and Hammett Jones consulted a microfilm of Sullivan's autograph score of The Mikado and the German full score published by Bosworth, they seem to have been unaware of the extent to which the autograph is a repository not only of Sullivan's original ideas but of changes at later stages in the performance history of The Mikado. They seemingly consulted neither British vocal scores nor librettos of the nineteenth century, both of which are necessary for dating the creators' improvements.

The Mikado especially was subjected to late additions ("For He's Gone and Married Yum-Yum" added to the act 2 finale), changes in running order (Ko-Ko's "I've Got a Little List" and "The Sun Whose Rays Are All Ablaze"), and simplifications ("So Please You Sir, We Much Regret" reduced from a quintet to a quartet, "Were I Not to Ko-Ko Plighted" reduced from two verses to one). Yet the Dover editors give both these two simplified numbers in their discarded form. Nor should they have been surprised (as on p. vii) that the bassoon solo in "Three Little Maids from School" is absent from vocal scores and the Bosworth score, since it was penciled in later. That the Dover score also ignores the character of Go-To (introduced to relieve Pish-Tush of an uncomfortably low-lying vocal line) may matter little musically or dramatically, but the editors should have at least mentioned his optional existence.

Moreover, the preference for early, discarded versions of musical numbers contrasts with the incorporation of twentieth-century additions to the lyrics ("dances" for "waltzes" in Ko-Ko's little list, p. 117, m. 45) and dialogue ("Mercy even for Pooh-Bah," p. 337). Most particularly, the editors subjugate scholarship to political correctness in replacing Gilbert's original text with A. P. Herbert's 1948 "banjo serenader" (for "nigger serenader") in Ko-Ko's little list (p. 116, m. 31) and "Is painted with vigour" (for "Is blacked like a nigger") in the Mikado's solo in "A More Human Mikado" (pp. 279-80, mm. 62-63).

During a 1947-48 D'Oyly Carte Company tour of the United States, the Times (London) reported on 28 May 1948 that "much objection was taken by coloured persons to a word used twice in 'The Mikado' "; as a result, the company consulted the humorist and author Sir A. P. Herbert, who came up with the alternate lines—used, without comment, in the present edition. Perhaps most bizarrely of all, before the second-act finale Simpson and Hammett Jones include without explanation (p. 337) what only the vocal score explains as "New Fanfare orchestration and arrangement by E. Jones" (p. 234). Whatever for? Altogether the Dover Mikado needs to be used with care and suspicion. For all three Dover full scores there is a corresponding vocal score, with the same introductory notes and with new reductions for piano solo by Hammett Jones. These piano accompaniments are to be welcomed for providing more accurate indications of the orchestration than predecessors, as befits an edition nowadays more likely to be used by rehearsal pianists than in the drawing room.

It is gratifying also to have the overture that Sullivan's assistant Hamilton Clarke put together for The Mikado available for solo piano rather than the original vocal score's piano duet. Nevertheless, the shortcomings mentioned above also restrict the usefulness of the Dover vocal score of The Mikado. The fourteen comic operas that Gilbert and Sullivan wrote between 1871 and 1896 eclipsed, of course, those of the individual partnerships with other collaborators. Occasionally, interest in these other works leads to a disinterment, one of the favorites being Sullivan's collaboration with F. C. Burnand on what started in 1867 as The Contrabandista and became, in an extensive 1894 revision, The Chieftain. The music has decided appeal, and the computer-produced, spiral-bound vocal score of a new performing edition of The Chieftain merits attention. Modern revisions tend to have a limited life; but this version, for which orchestral material is available for hire, deserves better. It incorporates an abridged libretto but retains the music of The Chieftain unchanged except for appropriating two more numbers from The Contrabandista than Sullivan and Burnand themselves managed.

Andrew Lamb You have access to this content Free sample Restricted Access Welcome to Project MUSE Use the simple Search box at the top of the page or the Advanced Search linked from the top of the page to find book and journal content. Refine results with the filtering options on the left side of the Advanced Search page or on your search results page. Click the Browse box to see a selection of books and journals by: Research Area, Titles A-Z, Publisher, Books only, or Journals only. Connect with Project MUSE Sullivan, A: HMS Pinafore (The Lass Who Loved a Sailor) on CD, DVD & download (MP3 & FLAC) - Buy online from Presto Classical Scottish Opera , Richard Egarr Read Presto's complete review of this disc here , and Katherine's exclusive interview with Richard Egarr here . Richard Egarr conducts the Scottish Opera in Gilbert and Sullivan’s much-loved nautical comic opera: HMS Pinafore. Performed and recorded live at the 2015 Edinburgh International Festival to a sold out audience, the story unfolds with additional narration from comic actor and broadcaster Tim Brooke-Taylor.

Heading up a cast that reads like a ‘who’s who’ of the opera world are John Mark Ainsley, Elizabeth Watts and Toby Spence. The well-crafted, yet light-hearted story unfolds on the HMS Pinafore as Josephine, the captain’s daughter, falls in love with a lowly sailor (Ralph Rackstraw) despite arrangements by her father to marry Sir Joseph Porter. Sir Joseph is a perfect caricature of Britain’s class system of the day – a pompous and splendidly incompetent man. Nevertheless, this likeable character decrees his liberal views and inadvertently encourages a couple in love to reject social conventions and elope. A tale of British silliness, filled with British humour, ends happily for all characters. Egarr applies his extensive knowledge of period performance practice to recreate the sound and style typical of the late nineteenth century, a first for a Gilbert and Sullivan recording. HMS Pinafore is rich in comic burlesque, sending up theatrical and operatic conventions and parodying the Italian opera of the day. The tongue-in-cheek writing is apparent from the opening chorus and the music is equally rich in comic pastiche and styles; ‘For he is an Englishman’ is one of the greatest master-strokes.

Climb aboard the HMS Pinafore for a hugely fun seafaring romp! “There’s a tremendous sense of affection and conviction from all involved, and never a suggestion of anyone condescending to the material...Egarr brings out some wonderful orchestral detail which I’d never noticed before (particularly in the big ensembles), and phrases everything with such line and lyricism that any sense of that ‘rum-ti-tum’ autopilot which often repels Gilbert and Sullivan's detractors is kept consistently at bay.” Katherine Cooper, Presto Classical, 20th May 2016 “Gilbert's satire...still resonates, and was a gift for Sullivan's talent for parodying Italian opera. That and its native tunefulness keep the score fresh, as this Scottish Opera performance under Egarr, recorded live at last year's Edinburgh International Festival, happily reminds us.” Sunday Times “It sounds like everyone involved was having a lot of fun.

Richard Egarr, for example: who knew that he was such an affectionate Savoyard?...It was clearly one of those occasions where everyone plays off each other, and with a cast like this, the results are never less than engaging.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2016 “The whole presentation is well-rehearsed and the orchestra is excellent. It was nice to see that Scottish Opera follow the D’Oyly Carte with the need for excellent diction… . In many a recording we find there are woodwind lines that fail to come across, but here there is absolute clarity from every section.” MusicWeb International, June 2016 “[Egarr proves] himself a natural for this repertoire; the whole thing bounces, sparkles and smiles, with Scottish Opera's orchestra playing with the insouciant grace that is such a crucial element of operetta style.

The cast is splendid...Elizabeth Watts is a gorgeous Josephine, Andrew Foster-Williams makes a perfectly proper Captain Corcoran and Hilary Summers's warm contralto is nicely suited to Little Buttercup.” Sunday Telegraph, 5th June 2016 *** “Richard Egarr brings springy energy to the score...Elizabeth Watts's Josephine has a mischievous touch.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2016 Presto Disc of the Week 20th May 2016 Sullivan, A : HMS Pinafore Muriel Harding (Josephine), Leonard Osborn (Ralph), Martyn Hill (Sir Joseph Porter), Darrell Fancourt (Dick Deadeye), Ella Halman (Buttercup), Joan Gillingham (Hebe), Leslie Rands (Captain Corcoran), Richard Walker (Boatswain’s Mate) D'Oyly Carte Opera Co., Chorus & Orchestra, Isidore Godfrey This recording was taken from LP, which in turn was taken from the last batch of conventionally cut 78-rpm wax masters in the UK.

“Harding is a clear-toned soprano and portrays her role as Josephine with lyrical charm and good phrasing...Martyn Green is D’Oyly Carte’s key patter man (Sir Joseph Porter) of this period and doesn’t disappoint: his clear diction and dry delivery is right for the part.” MusicWeb International, June 2002 Welsh National Opera , Sir Charles Mackerras “As always, Mackerras keeps the livelier numbers moving along comfortably without ever a hint of rushing, while giving full weight to the tender moments and, above all, caressing all the details of Sullivan's delicious orchestration. Right from the overture, with its beautifully shaped Andante section, this is music-making to perfection. Of the singers, Felicity Palmer's Buttercup truly oozes plumpness and pleasure, while Thomas Allen's Captain doesn't just do the crew of the Pinafore proud, but all of us. If Rebecca Evans's Josephine is a shade lacking in colour, Mackerras has found in Michael Schade's Ralph Rackstraw a most elegant addition to his G&S team.

As for Richard Suart's Sir Joseph Porter, this is surely as stylish a demonstration of patter singing as one can find anywhere on disc, while Donald Adams's Dick Deadeye is no worse for his 40-odd years singing the role. Add orchestral playing of refinement, choral work whose perfection extends from the formal numbers to the varied inflexions of 'What nevers?', plus a recording that brings out the instrumental detail to perfection, and one has a Pinafore that's unadulterated delight from first note to last.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 RLOS | H.M.S. Pinafore | February 15 - 23, 2008 Press Room About the Show ï¿½H.M.S. Pinafore, or The Lass That Loved a Sailorï¿½ was the fourth collaboration between W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. The opera opened on May 28, 1878 at the Opera Comique in London and ran for 571 performances.

Gilbert and Sullivan wrote 14 operas together between 1871 and 1896, most of which were produced by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. Gilbert, the duo's librettist, was an accomplished satirist known for a series of illustrated verses written under the pen name Bab. Sullivan, the composer, was often called the ï¿½English Mendelssohn,ï¿½ but his genius was most evident in the lighter comic songs he wrote with Gilbert. Sullivan's solo works include the opera Ivanhoe and the hymn ï¿½Onward Christian Soldiers.ï¿½ Gilbert and Sullivan's operas were wildly popular in their time and are still performed worldwide today. For more information about the show, and Gilbert and Sullivan in general, please visit this site. H M S Pinafore | Opera Scotland H M S Pinafore Arthur Sullivan (born London, 13 May 1842; died London, 22 November 1900) Text First Performance: London (Opéra Comique), 25 May 1878. First Performance in Scotland: tbc 1879.

Scottish Opera premiere: N/A. Background Pinafore is the work that established Gilbert and Sullivan as stars of the theatrical world, particularly in the United States, where the piece was quickly staged in a multitude of unofficial versions. The result was that when their next opera, Pirates of Penzance, was mounted, stringent steps were taken to tighten up the application of the authors' copyright. The plot is both a typical light operatic romance and a completely nonsensical example of the 'topsy-turvy' ideas that frequently drove Gilbert's plotting, of which Sullivan would eventually grow very tired. This version still seems remarkably fresh. Sir Joseph Porter, First Lord of the Admiralty (baritone) Captain Corcoran, of H.M.S. Pinafore (baritone) Josephine, his daughter (soprano) Ralph Rackstraw, able seaman (tenor) Dick Deadeye, able seaman (bass) Mrs Cripps 'Little Buttercup', a bumboat woman (contralto) Plot Summary On the quarterdeck of H.M.S. Pinafore, in Portsmouth Harbour, preparations are in hand for the visit of Sir Joseph Porter, who is considering marriage to the captain's lovely daughter, Josephine.

Little Buttercup, who is selling various trinkets to the sailors, notices that one seaman looks miserable. This is Ralph, who loves Josephine, but is too low in rank to be considered as a husband. When Sir Joseph announces that a British tar is any man's equal, Ralph proposes, is immediately rejected, threatens suicide, and is then accepted. That evening, the Captain's singing is interrupted by Buttercup, who loves him. Dick Deadeye informs the Captain and Sir Joseph that their plan for the marriage to Josephine are to be foiled through her imminent elopement with Ralph. The young couple are surprised and prevented from leaving. Ralph is arrested, and there is general consternation, until Buttercup provides the solution. Many years ago, in her youth, she ran a nursery, looking after a number of infants, including Corcoran and Rackstraw. At some stage she mixed the two babies up. It therefore becomes clear to Sir Joseph that Ralph is really the captain and the Captain is Ralph. The First Lord's marriage to Josephine is now out of the question - love does not level ranks as much as all that.

Captain Rackstraw can now marry Josephine, and Corcoran, demoted to able seaman, can marry Buttercup. Sir Joseph marries his cousin Hebe, one of the extensive flock of sisters, cousins and aunts that follows him everywhere.

Question: 'The Lass that loved a Sailor' is the subtitle of which 1878 light opera?
Answer: HMS Pinafore